Woman’s Work – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Mar 19, 2012
I am pretty sure that most Russians over 30 are familiar with the opening lines of Gianni Rodari’s poem Чем пахнут ремёсла (What jobs smell like): У каждого дела Запах особый (Each trade Has its special smell) This short poem mentions quite a few jobs, all using masculine nouns – маляр (painter), стекольщик (windows installer)…
Spring Has Sprung Posted by yelena on Mar 16, 2012
This has been a harsh winter in Russia and it’s not quite over yet. The snow and cold are lingering well into March in many regions of the country. It’s a balmy 26 degrees F there today and snow is expected tomorrow. And weather reports include до боли знакомые строки (painfully familiar verses) by Feodor…
Cinderellas Among Us – Household Chores in Russian Posted by yelena on Mar 14, 2012
In the US there is a good saying “woman’s work is never done”. Or as Russian women might say делам по дому конца краю не видно (lit. can’t see the end to house work). So what is considered женская работа (woman’s work) in Russian households? Let’s find out and, since house chores have to be…
Women’s Day or Femininity Day Posted by yelena on Mar 8, 2012
March 8 is a holiday in Russia, Международный женский день (International Women’s Day) or праздник Восьмого марта (the Eighth of March) or simply Женский день (Women’s Day). There will be plenty of поздравления (congratulations), цветы (flowers), поздравительные открытки (greeting cards), шоколад (chocolate) and подарки (gifts). Men will also try, if just for one day, to…
And the Winner of Russian Presidential Election 2012 is Posted by yelena on Mar 5, 2012
Way back, when the genre of рекламный ролик (advertising clip) was in its infancy in Russia, there was a commercial with a tagline При всём богатстве выбора другой альтернативы нет (Given all the choice, there is no other alternative). Coincidentally, at about the same time свободные выборы (free elections) in Russia were also in their…
Not So Nuclear Russian Family Posted by yelena on Mar 1, 2012
If you have the time, you might like the Russian-language sitcom Сваты. Much of it is available on YouTube. It’s a good sitcom to practice conversational Russian as well as to try to figure out who’s who in this crazy extended family. Want to play a quick game of associations? I’m going to say (ok…
Another Meaning of Sputnik Posted by yelena on Feb 28, 2012
I loved Rob’s comment on my Valentine’s day post. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might remember Rob’s previous guest posts, including Chemistry for Muggles as well as his exhaustively researched comments, both on the blog and on the Facebook page. This particular comment was so amazing that I figured, it needed…